Nikkei reports that Sony will be promoting the Executive Deputy President Kazuo Hirai to President as soon as this April, with Howard Stringer still keeping his position as Chairman and CEO.
Hirai has been on a fasttrack to success in recent years, having joined SCEA in 1995 and becoming Vice-President of Sony Computer Entertainment in 2006. Only two weeks after the financially painful launch of the PS3, he replaced Ken Kutaragi as President of SCE, and later became Chief Operating Officer of SCEI, while keeping his positions at SCEA. In 2007, Hirai became President and Group CEO of SCEI. Then, in 2009, Hirai was appointed as Corporate Executive Officer and Executive Vice President of Sony Corporation and President of NPSG (SCE, SOE, Computers, Walkman and more).
Hirai was promoted to Representative Corporate Executive Officer and Executive Deputy President of Sony Corporation to oversee the Consumer Products & Services Group in 2011,, with Stringer formally announcing Hirai as a frontrunner for his position when he retires (said to be 2013).
Despite all his promotions, Hirai has maintained a strong affiliation with PlayStation, so his move to President and possibly CEO and Chairman later could increase the technology giant’s focus on the gaming sector.
